AI and specialty crop growth | Detroit ranks at top of startup ecosystems
AI and specialty crop growth
PITTSBURGH, PA–Agritech startup Bloomfield Robotics has won the Akamai Technologies Future of Life Online Challenge. Akamai said it chose Bloomfield Robotics as one of the winners because of the company’s unique use of AI and custom imaging hardware to address challenges related to specialty crop growth. Last year, Bloomfield completed SVG Ventures’ prestigious THRIVE accelerator.
Machine learning detects crop health
COLUMBUS, OH–More agtech innovation as only Fast Future Country can do it: The U.S. produces about 4.5 billion bushels of soybeans every year, but leaf-chewing insects can cause severe crop losses. Using a combination of drones and machine learning techniques, researchers from The Ohio State University have recently developed a novel method for determining crop health and used it to create a new tool that may aid future farmers, using neural networks to help characterize a crop defoliation, or the widespread loss of leaves on a plant. This destruction can be caused by disease, stress, grazing animals, and more often by infestations of insects and other pests.
20Fathoms to help Michigan Tech commercialize tech
HOUGHTON, MI–A partnership between Michigan Tech University and Traverse City incubator 20Fathoms intends to advance tech research on campus and aid the path to commercial products. Michigan Tech professors receive grant money to perform various research projects, but their ideas don’t often move past the initial phase. 20Fathoms will step in to “bridge the gap” from basic research to commercial endeavor.
Detroit ranks at top of list of startup ecosystems by Startup Genome; Minneapolis and Pittsburgh make huge gains
DETROIT, MI–The 2022 Global Startup Ecosystem Report released June 14 named Detroit No 1, Minneapolis No. 4 and Pittsburgh No. 13 in the world as Top 100 Emerging Startup Ecosystems. Detroit’s ecosystem value was listed as $90.6 billion in value. Pittsburgh moved up 10 spaces this year, boosted by Duolingo’s $3.6 billion exit. Minneapolis moved up 18 spots with six exits over $50 million and one $1 billion+ exit. Nashville ranked in the 21-30 group; Indianapolis and St. Louis were in the 31-40 group.